Intelligent Wearable System for Enhanced Personalized Gait Rehabilitation

One common consequence of specific medical conditions such as stroke or other brain injuries, and certain operations, is the need for post event rehabilitation. In many cases, the inability to walk properly requires professionally monitored gait rehabilitation. Gait rehabilitation is important to restore the gait performance of mobility impaired patients and gait training frequency represents a key factor for effective rehabilitation. GaitREHub aims to develop an effective, comprehensive approach to providing targeted home-based gait rehabilitation, by integrating cutting-edge technologies, from the areas of (1) computer-based design and modelling of customized smart insole/socks, (2) wearable sensors and flexible embedded electronics realization, (3) home assistive robots, data analytics and artificial intelligence algorithms development as well as user-friendly software tool for gait rehabilitation, and (4) pre-clinical validation of the developed holistic, integrated and interactive system (our “REHub”).

The GaitREHub consortium consists of international recognized institutions and organizations, 4 from academic and 3 from industrial sector, from Belgium, Italy, Greece, Serbia, Chile and Thailand. GaitREHub will facilitate the exchange of knowledge, skills and competencies throughout 199 person-months of carefully planned secondments, promoting international and interdisciplinary collaboration and disseminating the project results to all stakeholders. This interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial project offers an excellent research and innovation environment for the personal and professional growth of the seconded staff members. The outputs of GaitREHub will effectively enhance the personalized rehabilitation of neurologically injured patients and any other patient in need of gait rehabilitation, while also sustaining R&I collaboration within the consortium, developing the potential for commercialization, and working to improve health outcomes for our society.